Royal Horseguards Hotel Afternoon Tea with 20 English Roses
Finally! For weeks I have been anticipating the arrival of February 16th… the day I was going to meet 19 other London bloggers at the Royal Horseguards Hotel Afternoon Tea.
I decided to venture in to town a few hours early to explore, since it was a truly glorious sunny in London day (Yep not a cloud in the sky!) It’s a good thing too, because I wasn’t aware my tube line (Northern, booooo!) was partially closed for repairs.
One rail replacement bus and two hours later, I finally arrived at the Royal Horseguards Hotel, a truly beautiful, cozy location. I wish you could smell the captivating scent of roses which filled the lobby.
The hotel is located steps from Trafalgar Square and overlooks the Thames, with a spectacular view of the London Eye from the terrace.
I made it to the luxurious private room, which had been arranged by Selena, and began to introduce myself to a group of bloggers I have admired through my screen but never had met face to face.
The room buzzed with conversations about our blogs, our lives and what brought us to London, as nearly all of us are expats. I grabbed my seat and tried my best to enjoy all the conversations around the table while also eating the tasty treats.
Chef Ben Purton, (Follow him on Twitter. He’s FAB! @Chefben1975) made an extra special effort not only to prepare a wonderful menu for us, but also to accommodate our gluten and dairy free requests. He met with us to discuss the menu AND we all received a complimentary glass of CHAMPAGNE! (You know that’s my favorite, Sunny friends!) Oh… and if that wasn’t already heavenly enough, we each received gift boxes filled with TRUFFLES!
The room buzzed with our excited conversations as we connected over the sandwiches, sweets and tea.
The menu featured:
Homemade Plain and Raisin Scones with Cornish Clotted Cream and Homemade Strawberry Jam
“After Eight” Shot Glasses- A Dark Chocolate, Cacao Barry Inaya Chocolate, Cremeux with Novus Egyptian Mint Tea Pannacotta and Crème de Menth Gel
Pink Peppercorn and Strawberry Ganache Stripy Macaroons
Banana Roulade
Passion Fruit and Raspberry Swirly Meringue Lollipops
Mango Curd Tarts with Coconut Marshmellow and Mango Glaze
Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Selection of Homemade Sandwiches: Coronation Chicken, Cream Cheese and Smoke Salmon, Hummus and Cucumber and Roast Beef and Horseradish
I made so many new friends and want to thank Selena for creating such a fantastic opportunity. This is my new buddy Jess from New Yawk, who blogs at Love and London. Because I lived in the Empire State for several years, we bonded instantly!
After such a terrific afternoon, I was far too exhausted to fight the two hour journey via replacement busses, so I called in a favor to Mr. Sunny. He graciously agreed to pick me up in his car, so I treated him to one nice cold Stella at a pub on our way home. I sipped on my standard… Rioja.
So, Sunny friends, have you been to the Royal Horseguards Hotel Afternoon Tea? What wonderful locations would you recommend?
What a great blog post Melanie! You’re quick 🙂 My husband and I just bought an oyster card and youth rail passes and have just made a pact to try to make it into town every couple of weeks, so we can meet up again soon.
Fabulous! Perhaps the weather will be equally as gorgeous the next time you come to London town! (We can only hope 😉 )
I am so happy that you joined us!! I’m thrilled that you made some wonderful connections and had such a great time. Wasn’t Chef Ben and his staff wonderful? I felt so pampered and happy. See you at the next one! But, let’s get together before then!!
xoxo
Selena
Definitely! I’d love to be included on any future blogging events and social activities. Also, I can help you coordinate the May tea, if you’d like some help. We know you put a tremendous amount of work in organising yesterday. It definitely was evident! Oh, and …. Cheers Chef Ben!
Lovely post and cute photographs! It was great to meet so many neat bloggers blogging about different things and the afternoon tea was indeed amazing!
Nice to meet you!
Thank you, Ngaire! I really enjoyed learning about you yesterday and getting help with my camera. You’re a truly talented phhotographer. Love the pictures you have of New Zealand on your blog and portfolio!
It was such a lovely afternoon! I was hoping to have chatted to you but alas, will have to wait until the next one!!!! Beautiful post!! xx
This looks so lovely. Sad I couldn’t make this one, but will be at the next one for sure 😀
Sammy, hopefully you can attend the one in May! Claire, that was HYSTERICAL! It’s the first time I ever had to use a rail replacement bus. Absolutely NO FUN. Thank you both for taking the time to read and comment.
I’ve been reading a few posts about this gorgeous tea and feeling so homesick… and then I read the dreaded words “rail replacement bus” and felt a bit better 😉
Sounds as though you and your blogger friends had a delightful afternoon. I can think of nothing better than having good food and good wine with good friends, old and new! Love all the photos.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment, Patty. I have another blogger tea coming up soon that I am excited to write about as well. These events certainly create great friendships and make living away from family a little easier.
My internet fell out last week and even though I tried to reply, I couldn’t. It was nice that you enjoyed the tea so much and thanks for bringing the ‘Sunshine’ that Sunday. Look forward to actually meeting you one day at one of these meets.